8 thoughts on “Do Motorized Faders Make Working With Your DAW Better?”

1. In my case, no. My small audio mixer just feeds a couple of hardware synths to Logic. I came to be all In The Box over time, so moving faders look a bit like just another amusement that will demand pricey repairs sooner or later. I can see the visual aid of them being useful for certain small band setups or maybe some exotic Ableton weirdness. People like Fred Frith or Robert Rich find new angles all the time.

2. 100% yes. When I’m recording or mixing several tracks, the faders make things much quicker. I’ve been searching for a replacement to an old Digidesign 003 I used for years.

3. Can only speak to my needs and uses, and so for me no. Would also concur about possible repair issues down the road. With the exception of my Prosonus 16.4.2 and my recently accquired L-12 all my other mixers are various Mackie VLZ Pro versions which I have never had any issues with over the many years.

4. Motorized faders make everything better.

5. Touch sensitive faders sound fun. Can you send note messages with them? That would be like a more exotic aftertouch keyboard

6. While I agree with the above two posts, the title of this article asks whether motorized faders make your DAW better, not if they are reliable or a good value.

   For my workflow with Logic, I would have to answer with a resounding “yes”, using motorized faders has drastically improved how quickly and effectively I am able to make techno (and other) styles. My projects generally have anywhere from 10 to 30 tracks, plus aux channels for fx returns and groups. Until recently I used a Mackie Control (Logic Control) old-school grey desktop with an extender.

   Those units got old, they no longer work well, and I’ve retired them. I decided to try “Logic Remote”, the iPad touchscreen remote software, and it’s simply not as useful as having actual faders you can put your hands on. I also really miss the jog wheel, and chunky transport buttons for play/stop/record/ff/rew. I’m now in the market again for a control surface with 16 (or more) motorized channels.

   For modern units, I like Presonus Faderport for its price and form factor, but I dislike the buttons and its deviation from the Mackie Control button layout which was designed for Logic. I like Behringer (X-Touch Pro) for its adherence to the Mackie spec, low price and expandability, but it’s chunky and it’s Behringer. I like Mackie MCU Pro for its ruggedness and good looks, but it’s expensive and takes a lot of room.

   I’d really like to see something new and nice in this arena. I’d pay real money for it.

7. yes of course they do and thats why every professional studio has a mixer or control surface with AUTOMATION which is an essential technology for sound engineers that has been around a lot longer than any consumer level products with it

   i was tempted to add something like a “duh” or equivalent… but im not sure those sentiments are understood in any way whatsoever anymore… kinda like how the word “literally” means its own opposite now

8. …I’d have to see this in a real-world” setting to be sold on it given what they’re charging for for this feature. In a home studio, or even professional hobby type of setup, I can’t see where this would be any benefit, especially if you play traditional music in a 4-5 piece band. If you make music by pressing buttons, maybe this is more helpful to you. In a band, you set the mix, and hit record. If you’re a professional engineer/producer/sound man who mixes several bands consistently or at several different venues that requires a different mix based on the venue acoustics, then I can see where recalling mixes with the motorized faders can be extremely useful. Outside of that, I don’t see where this a “must have”. Thousands of records/cd’s from the 50’s through early 2000’s, were made on boards that didn’t have motorized faders…..how did they ever get by????